One in four parents admit to spending more on one child than their others at Christmas

One in four British parents admit to spending £115 more on one child at Christmas than their other children, with more than half not seeing it as an issue, as the children themselves won’t be aware.

The research forms part of an ongoing study into British parents’ expenses over Christmas. More than 2,000 adults, all of whom stated they had at least two children under the age of 16 years, were quizzed about their shopping and gifting habits.

Initially, all respondents were asked “Do you spend an equal amount on Christmas presents for each of your children?” to which 33 per cent said ‘yes’ and a further 32 per cent said ‘there or there abouts’. What’s more, 24 per cent stated ‘no’ and the final 11 per cent admitted ‘I don’t keep track’.

When provided with a list of reasons and asked why one child had more spent on their Christmas gifts, the top five responses were:

• Other child/children will get spoilt by others (godparents, friends, relatives, etc.) - 35 per cent

• They’re my favourite - 22 per cent

• Another of my child’s birthdays is quite close to Christmas -16 per cent

Furthermore, when asked what the financial difference was between the child that had the least spent on them versus the child that had the most spent on them for gifts, the difference was found to average around £115.

Finally, when asked if they were OK with spending more on one child than others, 52% of parents confessed they were fine with it, as the child had no idea.

The study was carried out by myvouchercodes.co.uk. Commenting on the findings, Anders Nilsson, spokesperson at www.myvouchercodes.co.uk, said: “Whilst a few pounds here or there is an acceptable difference to spend on your own children, try to keep the spending around the same budget to avoid any bickering on the big day. Setting out a budget per child will help you to curb your spending, and avoid going overboard on unnecessary things. If you’re able to utilise discounts and deals to save some money along the way, then it’s OK to get more for your money, but try not to favour one child over the rest.”